


You Never Quit In All Your Life

by theshipsfirstmate



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: ANGST MONSTER, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-04-13 13:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4524531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theshipsfirstmate/pseuds/theshipsfirstmate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Olicity Future Ficlet. "In sickness and in health" turns out to be their most important vow.</p>
<p>Warning: Character Illness and Mentions of Death</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Never Quit In All Your Life

_“You swore you’d be here ‘til we decide that it’s our time_  
_Well it’s not time, you never quit in all your life_  
_So just take my hand,_  
_you know that I will never leave your side”_  
_-fun. “The Gambler”_

**You Never Quit In All Your Life**

She didn’t accept it when it first started. The little tremors he shrugged off until she hounded him enough and went nuts researching symptoms on the internet. She didn’t want it to be real.

She never let him see her cry. Not after the first diagnosis when she had melted down in the parking lot and he ended up comforting her. Not once ever again.

The worst thing was seeing him grounded, a little bit at a time. This man who used to fly through the city couldn’t stand from his chair sometimes. It hurt her heart for him.

Of all the moments in her life, watching him walk their daughter down the aisle, knowing what it meant to him, was top three for sure. Probably right after seeing him walk down the foundry steps years earlier, alive and returned to her. In reality, that moment had soured so quickly, but as the years passed, the only thing that stuck with her was the intense wave of relief and the way the sight of his face made her feel like home.

At the reception, she knew it would be their last dance. The father-daughter nearly taxed him to his limits, and as much as she was starting to panic at the thought, she worried they wouldn’t get another chance before it was too late. She made sure to request the perfect song, just in case, and hated herself when she right.

It got worse quickly then, in just a few years. The cane gave way to the scooter, then to the wheelchair. The worst part was that the grand-kids were still so young. He’d never get to know them.

She knew Jews don’t believe in heaven, but every single blog and online resource she had found about his disease inevitably contained some mention of the “earthly body,” even if it was just in the comments section. She thought if there was anyone who deserved a second chance at physical freedom (really third, in his case), it was Oliver Queen.

She didn’t know where he was going, but she knew he’d be free.

* * *

He tried so hard to hide it when it first started. He could mask most of the symptoms, the vision problems, the numbness, but the tremors she noticed eventually. He wanted as long as possible with her before it was real.

He always knew when she’d been crying. He hated that she hid from him, but he let her have her secret.

The worst part was seeing her face fall, just a little, every time. This woman who used to look at him like he was a hero, now looked at him like he needed saving.  It hurt his heart for hers.

Of all the things he’s done in his life, walking his baby girl down the aisle was top three for sure, probably right after marrying her mother. In reality, their wedding day had been an outright disaster, with the threat-of-the-month and a massive rain storm wreaking havoc on Starling City, but as the years passed, the only thing that stuck with him was the look on her face right before he kissed her for the first time as her husband.

At his daughter’s reception, he knew it would be their last dance. But, truth be told, he had “known” the last two times he had danced with her, and he had always been able to talk himself into it the next time around. He could see the fear in her eyes this time, so he told himself, and then her, that this wasn’t their last. He made sure to request the perfect song, just in case, and hated himself when he was wrong.

It got worse quickly then, in just a few years. The cane gave way to the scooter, then to the wheelchair. The worst part was that the grand-kids were still so young. He’d never get to know them.

He knew Jews don’t believe in heaven. But he surprises himself near the end when he realizes that he does believe in an afterlife of sorts. He’s imagined Tommy continuing on in some other plane of existence, and his parents, or at least, the idealized versions of them. He thought if there was anyone who deserved a second chance at easy happiness (and a third, and a fourth, and a fifth), it was Felicity Smoak.

He didn’t know where he was going, but he knew she’d be with him someday.


End file.
